Navratra Festival: As Garba, Dandiya take centre stage, Jammu Tourism draws local ire

Directorate of Tourism Jammu’s decision to usher in the Navratra festivities this year with Garba and Dandiya, famous Gujarati folk dances, has come under fire from the locals.

“Revellers gathering at a venue to perform the cheery dance ritual – Garba and Dandiya Raas – for nine nights in their traditional ensembles is essential to the culture of Gujarat. The government of that state has branded it as the ‘Longest Dance Festival of the World’. It is unbecoming of Directorate of Tourism Jammu to organize it as part of Navratra Festival in Jammu,” said Navdeep, a resident of Jammu.

She added, “The responsibility of the Tourism Department is to promote the indigenous culture of the region, while interacting and integrating with other cultures of the country and the world. How is Jammu Tourism Department faring on the first part? We all know the answer to that.”

Pained to learn that Navratra Festival 2021 will have Garba and Dandiya Raas, when Jammu’s rich culture and practicing artists cry for attention and preservation, Surinder of Reasi accused the LG Administration of trying to present a rosy picture of Jammu region and its development with respect to tourism, while the reality is contrary to that.

“The trust of the general public in the tourism department and the LG Administration as a whole is slowly eroding, as they continue to stoop to such lowly things,” he told The News Now.

Attacking the LG Administration, Vishal of Reasi said, “We had heard Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is bringing Gujarat model of development to Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Never knew, Gujarati culture will also be foisted upon us through his choicest men deployed at the helm of affairs. That is the reflection of state of affairs after the abrogation of Article 370.”

Employing such tactics to destroy the identity of region usually does not augur well for the region or the government, he pointed out.

Rajan Gandhi, a known columnist from Jammu mentioned, “Earlier it was cocktail parties at Amritsar, now Garba during Navratras at Jammu! When you import and enforce persons on Jammu Tourism, this is bound to happen.”

He added, “Earlier, there used to be Bhajan competitions at Katra, this time that is also missing. The purpose of Navratra festival should be to showcase and promote the local culture, however, Jammu Tourism department is repeatedly doing the opposite, be it Mansar or any other festival – importing Punjabi singers, giving them a huge platform, and showcasing Jammu poorly as far as cultural identity is concerned. All this is not acceptable.”

“Looking at the recent decisions and activities of the Jammu Tourism Department, it supposedly needs skilled officials who can give thoughtful consideration before putting out anything and not be excited to announce something ‘unique’ and ‘big’ just for the sake of it,” Navdeep said.

Also: Read my article at The News Now